The word automation means different things to different people, but when related to CAD/CAM there is a more common view. It means reducing menu clicks for frequent tasks. In a production environment, a frequent task could be something as simple as programming a certain type of groove on a turned profile. Saving these menu selections [...]
Medical parts have different requirements than other molded articles, and as a result tooling engineers over the years have pioneered new mold materials, coatings and mold maintenance practices. […]
A review of machining options for tapered rib processing, typically found in plastic injection and die cast molds. Applications involving tapered ribs are usually associated with plastic injection and die cast molds. For many years the process used for creating tapered ribs was EDM; however, utilizing programming processes that incorporate high-speed machining (HSM) principles can [...]
Today’s mold manufacturer is often looking for time and cost savings on many levels. There are solutions—whether it is to reduce development times, accelerate the configuration of entire initial sample test reports or shorten reaction times for damage analyses. […]
Many CAM software products produce toolpath process data and write neutral-formatted output files, like APT CL data. An external postprocessor program then translates the neutral data to a specific machine tool focusing on machine tool kinematics and controller syntax information. This traditional process has certainly been successfully applied. […]
Advanced CAM software products have abilities not only to identify collisions prior to bringing them to a machine, but also avoid these collisions. When collisions are identified, there may be many alternative cutter orientations that can provide a non-interfering instruction. […]
Without proper tooling, one cannot imagine the challenges of entering a world of micro machining where the tooling used is sometimes also very challenging to see. […]
Adapting CAD modeling data for CAM is not always a seamless process. Even small inaccuracies in file translation can result in time-consuming manual repairs. And even if the translated data is accurate, some designs may fail to meet manufacturing requirements, increasing the difficulties of cutting the mold or resulting in bad mold configurations that build [...]
If you design molds for a living, chances are there’s simulation software out there that can help you do your job more effectively. But what type of software should you be looking for? The answer is software that enables digital prototyping. […]
When the proper micro tool is chosen for moldmaking, there are many parameters with which to deal. The most important is knowing exactly what materials are being machined and their hardness or toughness qualities, or “machinability”. Guessing or coming close on this point will lead to much wasted time and tooling. […]